WWT Survey
Feb 1st, 2009 by writingwithtechnology
Does technology change the way we define writing today? Survey
Ask your students the following question.
Report on the answers.
At this time, what is your favorite writing tool (Example: paper and pencil/pen, computer keyboarding, blogging, podcasting, video editing)?
As part of the report reflect on the following questions.
1. Guesstimate what percent of your students have access to Internet connected computers outside of school. _____
2. At your school, how difficult is it to get a computer per every two students for more than two consecutive days at a time?
I have that many computers in my room. ____
Possible maybe twice a quarter _____
Takes an act of congress _____
3. At your school, how difficult is it to access images on the Internet?
Easy ___ Somewhat easy ______ Impossible _____
Add any other significant information as notes.
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In a class of 15 students, they all agreed that writing on computers was a much better tool than with paper and pencil. Reasons included being able to add pictures and music, not having to check a dictionary for misspelled words, and the speed of publication.
Two-thirds of my class has access to the internet at home, and all of those students are involved in an online community. Those who have cell phones (2/3) are also avid texters – which they prefer to calling.
The closet in my classroom is where a portable laptop cart is stored and we use it often (at least 3 times a week) and in all subjects. From doing our math online to publishing. As far as the images they are able to access online, I restrict the use of YouTube and when they Google images we are VERY careful about what we type in the search box.
My favorite writing tool is paper/pencil, even though I seem to accomplish more with my computer. I am not a blogger, even though I enjoy keeping a handwritten journal.
As I teach at the college level, I opted to pose the remainder of the survey questions to one of my student teaching interns at an elementary school in Olathe, Kansas. Even though the school district appears to be financially secure, the intern did not feel the students came from very wealthy families.
1.She did feel, however, that several of her students had access to computers and internet at home, citing that 12 of 18 students indicated they had computers at home (66%).
2.Four computers are available for student use in the classroom, with access to computers in a school lab on a regular basis. “Easy.”
3.Accessing images is fairly restricted, as students are only allowed to go to selected sites available on the computer’s “favorites” list, so “Impossible.”
My students are split almost 1/2 and 1/2 between preferring to write with pen/paper and preferring to write on the computer keyboard. Most did not know what podcasting or video editing was. Only a few preferred blogging.
1. at least 70% of my students have access to Internet connected computers outside of school.
2. I can get a computer for each student for more than two days in a row around twice a quarter, at best. We try not to monopolize the lab any more than that.
3. It is somewhat easy to access images on the Internet, though we never know what will come up as blocked. Even some of my publisher’s webquests get blocked, though we don’t know why. Many entire sites are blocked, even if they are related to learning. Our biggest trouble is technology not working, being extremely slow, or not being accessible a great deal of the time.
In my class, 70% prefer writing with a pencil paper, especially because they like drawing, too. To many of them, it is faster and they are better at it than typing. 30% prefer keyboarding. Some said they liked to blog, and none of them really knew about the other options.
60% have internet access at home, all can access the school’s open library for research afterschool.
We have a lab that is only open to general classes after lunch. It is first come, first served, sign up. I usually can get it anytime (well at least it has worked out so far,) but we have reading in the morning and Math, as well, so if I need it then, we try to schedule in the Library’s lab. It can be rather hectic at times…when math and science classes do research papers and their teachers ONLY have them use the computer as a reasearch tool, and during the Science Fair. 5th and 6th grades do A LOT of publishing on the computer so our classes use the lab.
Our classroom has one computer with a Smartboard. We got it over Christmas and we use it more and more.
We can access images. Some sites are blocked.
Also, pencil and paper means you can write anywhere and at anytime, unlike the computer.